Illinois’ unpaid vendor debt dipped to $9,293,287,365.33 as of Dec. 27, according to the state comptroller's office, continuing a trend that has seen the state’s unpaid debt holding under $10 billion ever since Gov. Bruce Rauner moved to issue $6 billion worth of general obligation bonds to use toward Illinois’ then record-setting burden of nearly $17 billion.
The Herald Sun previously reported the bonds issued by Rauner were rated BBB- by Standard & Poor's and Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Services.
In early October, the state’s debt load topped out at just over $16.6 billion, or more than $1 billion more than where it stood roughly just eight weeks earlier.
Prior to last summer, Illinois went over two years without a balanced budget in place, a period that also saw the state’s overall vendor debt triple from roughly $5 billion.
With all the debt for which the state remains on the hook, the amount continues to rise by at least $2 million a day in late payment interest.